


It's All Been Done Before (Remember?)

by embarrassingresultofmyfreetime



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, JEDTAVIUS, Karaoke, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 05:30:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13874169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime/pseuds/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime
Summary: Basically a Modern AU where Jedediah and Octavius find themselves in the same room on karaoke night by complete coincidence after being apart for many, many years.The time they first met just wasn't right but now Octavius wonders....[Just a cute lighthearted thing I did one night bc I couldn't stop thinking about how close "It's all been done" by Barenaked Ladies is to their relationship]





	It's All Been Done Before (Remember?)

Octavius went to his local bar the same as he always did to meet up with the usual group he always saw there on Saturday nights; but he knew there was something different about it the second he saw the room- small compared to the many others in the city- filled to the brim with so many people.  
The air outside had been crisp and cool, but it was a welcoming change of pace to the past cold nights he was almost used to feeling. He passed the ever-changing humorous orange sign on the side of the building before reaching for the worn wooden door that lead to a contrasting interior.  
The welcoming, hazy amber lights and joyous bustle of occupants gave the room a comforting feel, but the second he entered he realized the real reason it felt so much different than the many times he'd entered before.  
The aura pulsing from the room wasn't the usual mildly tipsy antics he had grown accustomed to. No.  
It was Karaoke Night.  
With a sigh, he wondered how he could have possibly forgotten.  
He momentarily considered simply walking out, but he had already been spotted. He accepted his fate as a greeting called for him.  
"Octavius! So glad you could join us!"  
One of his closest comrades called from a table packed with more friends than it was meant for.  
Octavius casually slid the sleeves of his thin grey hoodie up to his elbows so he didn't overheat in the mildly stuffy room, subsequently knocking his bright red scarf out of place in the process.  
He stepped closer towards his table of friends but another who had gotten up for a drink caught him off guard with a quick hug that knocked his knit hat out of place.  
"Hey man! Great to see you made it!" He said before pulling yet another chair over to the already jam packed table.  
"Why of course!" Octavius responded with a weak smile as his other friends laughed just for the sake of it.  
They made room for him and once he had fixed his golden-colored knit cap back over his dark hair, he took the seat lazily crammed between its occupied neighbors.  
One of them was finishing up a story Octavius hadn't been around to hear the beginning of so he took the time to take in the other guests in the room. Nearly every table had multiple people conversing at it, but there was one in particular that stood out. It was nearby but on the opposite side of the room and held nearly as many people as his own had crowded around it. The entire group was huddled close, but soon after burst out into a fit of laughter. It was so strong, in fact, that one of the guys started crying and another man near him excused them both before the ruckus could get the group tossed out of the bar.  
Octavius watched in concentration, so much so that it took him nearly a full minute to see that one of the men near the center of the group- the one that Octavius was actually quite confident had told the story that made everyone laugh so hard- was down to a light smile and looking directly at him.  
The man had his head leaning against one of his hands with his elbow on the table. He had messy dirty-blond hair and a brown vest over a light-blue button-down shirt; but most noticable was the way it brought out his brilliant blue eyes that glinted as if he knew something Octavius didn't.  
Octavius was confident he'd seen the man somewhere before and found himself staring back as he racked his brain trying to place where it had been. When he remembered where it had been his eyes narrowed.  
He himself had been in an emptier part of the library down the street doing paperwork when he'd watched a group of construction workers planning to do something with an adjacent stretch of land. He had been annoyed because there was a large unused building that had been a public recreation center before it had run out of funding just a block away. He felt it was rediculous to pave over more greenery when there was plenty of room so close by, especially when he worked in law.  
The man winked at him and it snapped him out of his memory.  
But that only made him realize that that wasn't the only place he'd seen him. Yes, the strange man had stopped into the library- but that wasn't the only time Octavius had seen his face. It was from much longer ago. Maybe back in collage? It was hard to tell. He hadn't gotten out much during those years but the notion did resonate with him somehow.  
His friends were now on the topic of karaoke- which Octavius had a personal dread for.  
He didn't have a problem with it per se, he just didn't enjoy it himself and was often seen as a wuss when he refused to succumb to peer pressure and join in.  
So his gaze quickly fell back to the man at the opposing table, only to find the man no longer there.  
His head wipped around to just about every other corner of the room before realizing he was on stage.  
He was now wearing a brown cowboy hat for some reason and the mild scruff was more visible in the small stage's suprisingly bright light.  
The moment he spoke to announce himself was the moment Octavius realized exactly where he knew the man from. It was from a time before he understood what type of people he was interested and what career he wanted to follow. It had taken better lighting, and his voice just for Octavius to put it all together after all these years.  
He was a crush of his from many many years ago that Octavius had never dared let anyone know about. It took him many years after the man was out of his life to even admit to himself that the reason for his heartache was indeed a crush.  
He was happy with who he was now, but he was in complete shock when the man finally spoke.  
"Hey yall! I'm Jedadiah and I'm just a little amped up-"  
There was a cheer from his friends that made him smile wholeheartedly as he continued,  
"So since I've got some good ol' liquid courage, I'd like t' sing somethin' for someone who 'm not sure remembers me-"  
_How could I forget?_ Octavius wondered silently.  
"-but hey: life's short and I love a little flair!" Jedediah rapped up with a little flair in and of itself as he tossed his audience a sly grin.  
There was an outburst of applause from nearly everyone, even Octavius's own friends who most of were already a little tipsy. Jedediah's friends whistled and hollared the most but Octavius couldn't force himself to move if he wanted to. He felt completely dazed.  
"Y'all know this song!" Jedediah said, pumping up the excited energy in the room even more.  
He hit play on the song and it immediately started up.  
He nodded and tapped his foot to the song and his group of friends begun clapping to the beat. It caught on quickly and soon everyone was all in by the time the first verse even started.  
"I met you before the fall of Rome  
And I begged you to let me take you home  
You were wrong, I was right  
You said goodbye, I said goodnight"  
He made a few coresponding gestures as he sang.  
The song brought back things Octavius had long since buried and it was making his head spin.  
It's true that they had been friends once in school. It was almost unavoidable if you needed to survive a class, but what Octavius had never admited to anyone was that he had purposely distanced himself when he had realized he was developing a crush on Jedediah. Octavius came from a good family with good money and lived somewhere where that kind of thing was unheard of. He didn't know how to handle it so he'd distanced himself. It had felt like his only option at the time so he'd purposely let the oppertunity fall through his fingers.  
Now his mind was spinning and he couldn't help but let himself wonder if Jedediah, a handsome and reasonable man, could have picked the love song for him.  
He couldn't let himself believe it. He forced the idea down before it could give him that painful heartache all over again.  
The next part had passed as he did this.  
"It's all been done  
It's all been done  
It's all been done before"  
Octavius was thankful no one's eyes strayed from the beautiful singer, for Octavius was too frozen to even think about anything else.  
"I knew you before the west was won  
And I heard you say the past  
Was much more fun  
You go your way, I go mine  
But I'll see you next time"  
Octavius really didn't want to consider that them both being there now- in the same room at the same time- meant something. Especially when it was so many years later when their lives were now so separate.  
Somehow, Jedediah looked nothing but confident. Octavius had such mixed feelings about it that it was making his stomach hurt a little.  
"It's all been done  
It's all been done  
It's all been done before"  
For the next verse Jedediah quieted down a little.  
"If I put my fingers here, and if I say  
"I love you, dear"  
The singer spared an extra glance to Octavius that instantly made his chest hurt and ears feel as if they were on fire. If Jedediah was just messing with him or if the song was somehow actually about someone else... well he wasn't sure he could handle it.  
"And if I play the same three chords  
Will you just yawn and say"  
He looked at Octavius again. Was it a joke on his usually unimpressed demenor? He couldn't take it. Everything about the song was messing with his head.  
Everyone but him sang the next line:  
"It's all been done"  
"It's all been done  
It's all been done before"  
Jedediah hopped down elegantly from the stage and slowly stepped down the center of the room. He danced a little at the guitar bit and it made everyone but Octavius cheer.  
"Alone and bored on a thirtieth-century night  
Will I see you on The Price Is Right?  
Will I cry? Will I smile?"  
He literally shot a smile to Octavius: who was doing his personal best not to react.  
"As you run down the aisle?"  
The chorus repeated,  
"It's all been done  
It's all been done  
It's all been done before"  
It repeated again as he returned to the stage and many others chimed in to sing along as well.  
"It's all been done  
It's all been done  
It's all been done before"  
Once more  
"It's all been done  
It's all been done  
It's all been done before"

Jedediah had danced around with vigorous energy that had never dimmed for a moment and it was like Octavius was falling in love all over again.  
The optimism and the persistance that defined his personaliy. That voice that was more rough then elegent yet always resembled a song itself. None of it was something Octavius had ever found in another person.  
Once the song was over he returned the mic to its place and headed back to his table to high five his friends. They all patted him on the back and said something of approval, but they also immediately demanded he ask out the person he'd sung of.  
Octavius only watched, wide-eyed.  
"Octavius!" Someone at the table finally snapped descretely at him.  
He turned his head with a weak attempt to hide hus emotions.  
"Are you alright?"  
"Are you the person?!" Another asked a little too loudly for Octavius's liking.  
"I-" he didn't know how to respond. Everyone was talking so fast and it was all so much. He usually handled stress incredably well but something about Jedediah had always made him weak to his knees.  
In the spirit of honesty, Octavius's friends were all aware that he was not interested in women, but that was all he had ever chosen to discuss on the matter. Unfortunately, he now realized his long-established silence on the matter had brought extra fuel to his current situation.  
Suddenly Jedediah stood up and headed for their table.  
_What if it's not me?!_ Octavius panicked internally.  
Jedediah tipped his hat and smiled messily at them.  
"O-Octavius...?"  
He said, pulling his hat off completely and fiddling with the brim in his fingers before quickly deciding to return it to his head.  
Octavius stood up a little too fast than he meant to, unable to contain his emotion much longer.  
"Ye-yes?"  
The man standing a mere few feet away rubbed the back of his neck but attempted to be cool about it. It was clear to everyone that it wasn't working but Octavius only found it sweet.  
"I- Well I hope this doesn't sound weird but I- I saw you the other day and I... don't know if you remember me but we went to school together-"  
"I remember." Octavius interrupted aburptly before he could stop himself.  
Jedediah blushed a little and Octavius was sure he did it in reply. The light pink covering his cheeks and the grin were too much for him. And that wasn't even mentioning those brilliant blue eyes. He was defenceless.  
He remembered the playful banter and the studying nights they spent doing everything _but_ studying, the coffees, the conversations, the way Octavius started to ignore the messages and say he was busy, all the nights he spent alone because he refused to take the chance, how he focused on school and looked for a girl he never found; all of it, to lead them here.  
At a time when his hair would soon grey and those his age were already having their second and third kids.  
"I'm just gona say it- I had a crush on you- I- I have a crush on you. God that's so childish I- I just want to know if you'd go out with me-"  
He took a nervous breath so Octavius took the change to respond.  
"I like you too."  
"Maybe a drink sometime- not here, maybe coffee or- WAIT YOU DO?!"  
Octavius chuckled a little and looked away in embarressment.  
They were grown men yet standing there like the terrified teenagers they were back then.  
"Yes." The dark haired man replied. "I actually hate how it all went down but I was too scared back then to admit it or do anything about it."  
Jedediah's face lit up like he'd won the lottery or something of the sort.  
"Wait so you'll go out with me?!?"  
Octavius grabbed the front of his vest a kissed him passionately before pulling away again.  
"What so you think?"  
Jedediah looked less than a second away from passing out.  
"T-thanks? I- I'll give you my number." He replied, scrambling for his phone.  
Octavius laughed. Maybe he shouldn't try so hard to avoid karaoke after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I tossed together but I hope you liked it! Don't be shy to kutos or comment.  
> [Sorry if you get notifications btw bc I accidentally posted this instead of saving it as a draft the first time so rip me.]  
> I feel like I'm talking to an empty room but hey, if you stumbled across this somehow thanks for stopping by! :)


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